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NBA 2K17 Kings Rebuild Project

After trading DeMarcus Cousins at the trade deadline for Tyreke Evans, Buddy Hield and then some, the Sacramento Kings entered complete rebuild mode. That is where I take over.Started Season Today and imported EmbraceThePace 2K17 Draft Class

2017 NBA Playoffs

Grizzlies (7) upset Spurs (2) in the 1st round before being knocked out by the Rockets (3). They met the Warriors (1) in the Western Conference Finals.

The Hawks (6) upset the Raptors (3) and the Bucks (5) knocked off the Wizards (4) in the first round on the East side of the bracket. Cavaliers (1) and Celtics (2) met in the ECF.

Warriors knocked off the Rockets in 6 and will face the Cavs for a third straight NBA Finals, who beat Boston in 7 games.

Golden State was crowned Champions once again, this time in just 5 games. Steph Curry wins Finals MVP with 26.8 pts, 5 reb and 6.8 ast adding 2 steals. He shot 55% from downtown.2017 Offseason
With the Pelicans pick from the Cousins trade, we landed the 9th pick.

Our own lottery pick earns the 7th slot - next years first round pick goes to the Bulls!

Rajon Rondo will start at PG for the Charlotte Hornets on a 1 year deal, replacing Kemba.

The Heat did not pay Dion Waiters, so the Pacers gave him $72 mil over 4 years to come to Indiana.

Tyreke Evans signed with the Rockets - $27 over 3 years.

I signed Danilo Gallinari for $44 mil over 2 years with a 3rd year player option.

2017-18 NBA Season

Imported EmbraceThePace 2K18 Draft Class

2017 Starting Five

Kemba Walker

Buddy Hield

Danillo Gallinari

Marvin Williams

Willie Cauley-Stein

After one month we are 7-9, losing 3 of our last 4. Kemba and Gallinari are both scoring 20 points per game. Those two and Buddy are all taking 5 threes per game. Kemba is shooting 41% from downtown, Buddy 36% and Gallinari just 28%. We are 2nd in the NBA in 3PA, trailing only the Warriors, however, we shoot just 35% as a team, good for 19th!

December was terrible as the team fell to 10-21 heading into 2018, I moved Buddy to the bench in the middle of January and put Garrett Temple in the starting lineup, only to see Gallinari go down with a torn hamstring!

In a lost season, this will help Anunoby and Brooks develop in their rookie year!

22-34 at the All-Star break, we now lead the NBA in 3PA per game at 30, but are shooting a league WORST 32%.

On a 7 game win streak to end March, 33-41, Kemba Walker is shut down for the year with a sprained left foot. We finished the year with 36 wins.

The Rockets owned the best record in the West with 58 wins, followed by the Spurs (51) and Warriors (50).

At 41-41 the Lakers returned to the NBA Playoffs as the 8 seed. D'Angelo Russell led the team with 22 points and 6 assists while rookie Malik Monk shot 40% from downtown and averaged 18 points per game to lead all rookies.

The Lakers would upset the Rockets in the 1st round, with a 116-114 Game 7 victory.

The 2 seed Spurs would also be knocked out, this time by the Nuggets (7) who won by 20 points in Game 7.

The Nuggets would continue to play great basketball, knocking off the Warriors in 5 games to reach the Western Conference Finals. There they found themselves in a matchup with the Portland Trail Blazers (4).

Over in the East, the Sixers claimed the 6 seed with 45 wins, while the Celtics fell to 44-38 and the 7 seed.

Joel Embiid led Philly at 17 points per game, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks. 33 year old Millsap signed a big contract in the offseason, but suffered a spinal injury in early March. He played in just 60 games. Five other 76ers averaged 10 points per game, including Ben Simmons and Jahlil Okafor.

Rudy Gay, who signed with the Celtics, was 2nd on the team in scoring at 15, behind Isaiah Thomas' 21. While they may have just barely made the playoffs, they upset the Raptors (2) in Round 1 and the Bulls (3) in the 2nd round, to reach the Eastern Conference Finals against LeBron James and the Cavaliers (1).

Both Conf Finals went 6 games and the 2018 NBA Finals will feature the Blazers and Cavs.

LeBron would bring home a 2nd NBA Title to Cleveland and yet another Finals MVP.

2018-19 NBA Season

Off to another rough start at 4-12, and just lost Gallinari again for a couple weeks. I should have seen this coming!

As we enter 2019, the Kings are 12-23, with Kemba Walker ready to test free agency. However, Buddy is shooting 45% from downtown, and scoring 18 points per game!

There was not a single trade out there that I liked, and being that I only have until the 2022 NBA Finals to put together a winning team, I decided to see if I could re-sign Walker in the offseason.

I did however make a change to the starting rotation, moving Marvin Williams to the bench and Skal Labissiere into the starting five. I also extended WCS for two more years with a third year player option.

Before we reached April, Anunoby suffered a Torn MCL, and we finished with just 26 wins.

Kevin Durant won the 2019 NBA MVP Award

Micheal Porter Jr (Heat) was named the NBA ROY

2019 NBA Playoffs

The Warriors won 70 games, led by Durant and Curry scoring 28 points per game. The average score of their games was 105-89.

The Timberwolves finally put it all together and earned the 2 seed in the West with 57 wins. Karl-Anthony Towns led with 19 points per game and 13 rebounds. Andrew Wiggins,Zach LaVine and Markelle Fultz all scored 13+ points.

The San Antonio Spurs failed to make the playoffs! Kawhi Leonard played in just 65 games, missing the last half of December and most of January.

Mike Conley broke his ankle, limiting him to just 38 games and the Utah Jazz won just 35 games.

The Celtics and Wizards failed to make the playoffs in the East. Bradley Beal played in just 50 games and Jaylen Brown battled ankle injuries all year long, limiting him to 38 games.

Davis/Cousins/Holiday finally reached the NBA Playoffs and won their first round matchup against the Nuggets, only to be swept by the Warriors in the next round.

The Sixers (7) knocked LeBron and the Cavs (2) out of the first round and then took down the Pacers in 6 games to reach the ECF.

It took 38 points from Curry in Game 7 for the Warriors to knock off KAT and the Twolves in the West Finals.

Klay Thompson fouled out of Game 7 in the NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors, but Curry & Durant combined for 72 points to knock off DeMar DeRozan & Kyle Lowry.

Kevin Durant was the Finals MVP.2019 Offseason

Heading into free agency, I have no starting PG and zero depth in the backcourt. Kemba wanted $26 mil per year while I could have Rubio at much less, so I signed him to a 2 year deal worth $30 mil and a 3rd year player option .

This will be a massive change to my teams offensive philosophy, as the PG will not lead the team in scoring anymore.

2019-20 NBA Season

At 6-20 in December, Ricky Rubio suffered a knee injury and would miss a handful of games. This moved Derryck Thornton into the starting lineup and his first real NBA action. In 9 starts, Thornton averaged 9 points and 7 assists but shot just 35%.

With yet another lottery bound season wrapping up, and Marvin Williams contract coming off the books, I moved all of his bench minutes to Georgios Papagiannis, O.G. Anunoby & Dillon Brooks.

I also extended Buddy and Skal for two more years. This is Hield's offense now, but he has struggled to score 19 points per game on 40% shooting (36 3pt%).

The Kings won just 29 games.

Kevin Durant MVP, again.

Warriors win NBA Championship, again, sweeping the Chicago Bulls.

Steph Curry Finals MVP.

2020 Offseason

I traded the 4th overall pick in the draft to the Suns for T.J. Warren. Warren will replace Gallinari in the starting lineup. Sorry Anunoby and Brooks! Warren is just 26 years old heading into 2021.

Serge Ibaka signed with the New York Knicks for $69 mil over four years.

2020-21 NBA Season

We won the first game of the season, but lost Rubio for a month. Rubio broke his ribs in just 18 minutes. Mudiay immediately enters the starting lineup.

10 games later Rubio is back and Mudiay averaged 13 points and 7 assists on 35 FG% but the team went just 2-8.

As we entered 2021, the Kings were 14-19 and could finally make a playoff appearance if all goes well.

Hield lead the team with 21 points per game, but Warren shot a career worst 42% from the field. That being said, he is still scoring 18 points per game. Mudiay, off the bench, is the only other player scoring 10 points per game.

We lost 11 of our last 15 heading into the All-Star break, and owned a 24-33 record.

Rubio would be lost for the season towards the end of March, but it wouldn't matter at 28-41. That was quickly followed by a WCS injury that ended his season as well.

The Kings finished with 32 wins.

Karl-Anthony Towns was named MVP2021 NBA Playoffs

At 36 years old, LeBron James led the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 3rd NBA Title, beating the Golden State Warriors in 7 games. It was his 5th ring.2021 Offseason
Dillon Brooks signed with the Spurs, I am a little upset that we never gave him an opportunity to play for us. Grayson Allen signed with the Pacers.

I brought back Papagiannis on a 2 year deal worth $28 mil with a 3rd year player option. He is still just 24 years old.

I also matched a $50 mil deal that the Pelicans offered Anunoby.

2021-22 NBA Season

Starting Five

Ricky Rubio

Buddy Hield

T.J. Warren

Skal Labissiere

Willie Cauley-Stein

We entered 2022 with an 18-18 record. The team was playing .500 basketball with injuries to Rubio, Hield and Warren, who all missed a couple weeks at various times, some overlapping, to start the season.

Mudiay made 12 starts, scoring 13 points per game and picking up 7 assists.

Anunoby also made 12 starts and scored 7.5 points, grabbing 7 rebounds and adding 3 steals and a block, but shot just 34%.

Hield was having a career year at 28, shooting 41% from the field and 3pt, averaging 22.7 points per game.

Warren was shooting a career best 42% from downtown, on 70 attempts, vs his career average of just 29%!

Heading into the All-Star break, we owned 7th seed in the West at 29-29.

With not much to offer in a trade and no cap space, there was no way to improve the roster at the trade deadline.

By April 1st, at 35-40, we were no longer holding onto a playoff spot. With 7 games left, we were a game behind the Mavericks for the 8 seed in the West.

We would win just 3 of those 7 games and a T.J. Warren injury would ended my reign as the Kings GM, without a playoff appearance.

Russell Westbrook won his 3rd MVP award.

LeBron James was the NBA Finals MVP as the Cavs knocked off the Warriors one last time.